


Metamorphosis

by alieniloquy



Category: British Singers RPF, Muse (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Thriller, Werewolf AU, a hint of a relationship... or the start of one, mentions of chris and tom, possessive werewolf, still going to consider it as a belldom piece since they are the focal point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 19:49:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21258695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alieniloquy/pseuds/alieniloquy
Summary: A sci-fi author finds his way back to his childhood home and, as a proper homecoming fit for him and his old friends, is sequentially dared to spend the weekend at an abandoned house miles away and in the center of a forest that only two men had ever explored in recent years.





	Metamorphosis

This wasn’t what he had thought about doing on a Friday evening in the middle of a rather chilly autumn.

In fact, Matthew would rather be heading over to the pier in Teignmouth with his childhood friends to play some of the games they had at the arcade for old time’s sake considering he was just popping into town to visit some familiar faces and get away from his writing desk full of unfinished sci-fi literature and crumpled up post-it notes of every color. Though, most of what he remembers had been washed away with the violent wave that came through in recent years; old arcade games that he’d spend countless money on now forever lost at sea. He had heard the news and sent a small care package to his mother instead of visiting, simply because he had deadlines and couldn’t afford the visit— literally and not so much.

So, okay, the arcade wasn’t the best option in the long run... but there’s plenty of other things to do around Devon as a whole as it harbored so many great places to travel to within its multiple cities and towns.

Let’s see... Pop into some of the record shops that are strewn about, hit up a few more of the pubs to get some drinks while playing catch up with a couple of mates, walk along the beach and ponder conspiracy theories, find something— anything— to help him with a writer’s block that’s been going on for months on end (which was another reason why he agreed to come all the way down from Birmingham; to get some fresh air and possibly get those creative juices flowing)...

But no, he wasn’t going to be doing any of those nice, relaxing things on that mental list today— or this weekend for that matter.

Of course he was wasn’t!

Instead, he was gathering the things that he supposedly would need in an oversized overnight bag to head on down to a derelict building that’s buried deep within a wooded area which was a considerable distance away from the bed and breakfast that he’s staying at in Dawlish; an obvious seaside theme was in place there just by glancing at the wall decorations with seashells and beaches, the color coordination of blues and tans and yellows on the choice of towels and bedding.

The big question of the day: what was the reason behind this abrupt trip to an abandoned house that’s perched in between nothing and... well, even more nothing?

**Curiosity.**

Not only that, but it was a dare that came up in light conversation during lunchtime with said childhood friends he had stopped into town for. There was no way that Matt could say ‘no’ to it— well, he could have, but where’s the fun and excitement in that?! Besides, there’s a reward at the end of this _mis_adventure.

So, what was the reward? What could possibly be worth spending a weekend alone in the woods and enduring what ever may be lurking in the shadows?

He... doesn’t know— or at least no one will tell him outright.

When he asked about the prize at the end of the rainbow earlier, the tallest one of the bunch sitting on the barstool at the far end of the bar to his left was the one to answer with, “you’ll find out when you’ve done it.”

So, perhaps pure, unbridled curiosity was all that was driving him to do this idiotic dare in the first place.

Strange that he never knew about that house out there looking back at the years that he had lived down south, but apparently it was a fairly recent discovery as not many ventured in that part between towns just for the fun of it all. It didn’t seem like there would be anything out there other than wildlife and the like, anyway, so no one bothered to really get an intensive look into it— until someone brave enough decided to walk deeper into the unknown, discovering that empty house which soon became the talk of the south. Numerous rumors and stories came roaring to life after the cornerstone event, but none of them reached Matt’s ears until their lunch meetup.

• • + • •

_“I heard a rumor that there’s someone that lives there and that’s why the bloke that went searching in the woods never came back,” said the male directly to his right after having a swig of his second glass of beer, a droplet coming down from the corner of his mouth which caught Matt’s eye; distracting him for a split second. It was wiped away in an instant due to it tickling the skin underneath it. “Poor sod must’ve ran into a murderer.”_

_ “Nah, he had to have come back from that. How else would we have found out that there’s a house out there?” Another friend prompted, both of his eyebrows raising in question. _

_ “Could’ve been with someone else, maybe. They could’ve seen what happened to their mate and ran off like a sane person would!” _

_ “Not everyone runs from danger! Haven’t you heard of fight, flight, or freeze?!” _

_ “I don’t need a bloody psychology lecture!” _

_ The brunet listened on and on as the others rambled about that peculiar house and those that had previously chosen to take a fated visit to it, conjuring up his own theories and weaving stories in the safe walls of his mind... as most writers like himself did without being cognizant of the fact that it was happening. _

_ There was only one way to find out for sure what rumors were true and what ones were false. _

• • + • •

And that was that curiosity coming into play, making him wonder just what it was that he was going to get himself into by agreeing to an optional mission.

In his giant gray bag with red accents lining the zipper and where it had been sewn together, he made sure to put in some clothes, an extra coat, a heavy woolen blanket, a flashlight, some decently sized bags of trail mix, a couple bottles of water, a few pre-charged battery packs for his phone in case of an emergency, a ballpoint pen, and a notebook— who knew when inspiration could strike? That appeared to be all he needed for a short weekend away; and if it wasn’t, then that was his mistake for not being prepared enough.

Outside of his seaside-like room at the bed and breakfast, Matthew could hear his entourage getting restless and walking about in circles; chattering nonstop and questioning among themselves how long this packing business was going to take.

Excuse him for needing essentials for another trip that he didn’t expect to go on and clearly, they didn’t realize just how important this step of being thrusted into a ‘haunted’ house out of the blue was.

Once he had zipped up the bag and looped the slightly padded strap over his shoulder, he reached over toward the nightstand to extinguish the lamp before turning on his heel and walking on over to the door. He turned the door handle and pushed it open, spooking his friends in the hallway as a result.

“All right, Bells?” The tall man from before, Chris, gave him a glance over once he straightened himself up; hands deep in his pockets and gaze full of concern and worry.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” came the brunet’s reply, preceded by a deep inhale and exhale of a shaky breath.

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Another voice came from his left, hesitant on Matt’s behalf which could  be because he was the one with the murderer theory after all.

“You were the one that seemed eager to shove him in that house, Tom!” The third friend with ginger hair— Rowan— chimed in with a shrill tone; an eye roll being followed with his words. “This was your bloody idea!”

As Tom and Rowan had a bit of a back and forth, Chris moved closer to Matt to take his bag from him and guide him outside to the car waiting out front. It wasn’t a quick trip down the street and it’d be cruel to walk all that way, making him tired and even more susceptible to the dangers of the caliginous forest. The bickering duo eventually followed suit, all four of them hopping into the vehicle once the bag was thrown in the trunk and everyone asked the brunet if he truly had all that he needed for a weekend of the unknown.

• • + • •

The drive over to the forest was far too quiet for anyone’s liking, dead silent aside from the sound of Matthew heavily breathing in and out in the passenger seat through both his mouth and his nose; practically hyperventilating.

He knew this was all in his head. He was psyching himself out the more he thought about what he was doing, that he would be completely and utterly alone in a house he’s never seen before— or he hoped that he’d be alone. Yet another scenario that made his mind go wild, heart pounding in his chest; ready to explode at any minute.

“I can’t do this,” a whisper as he stared out of the windshield, blue eyes wide and shining with a new realization. “I really can’t do this.”

“What-?” Chris’s voice came from beside him, there in the driver’s seat. He changed a small glance toward his left, not needing to see much to notice just how tense Matt was.

“_I can’t fucking do this_...!” He tried again, voice raising at the end; head finally turning to stare right at the driver before further shifting to look at the two in the back.

Tom and Rowan didn’t know what to say.

“Just-... C’mon, take more deep breaths, mate. We’ve already come this far out, it’d be a waste to turn around now. There’s fuck all out here but this forest,” Chris tried again, blindly reaching a hand out beside him to squeeze at the brunet’s shoulder. “We’ll go in there with you but once we’re at the house, it’s all you. How’s that?”

Slowly, Matthew turned his head forward and gave a single nod in reluctant acceptance; a hand coming up to card his fingers through those short strands atop his head.

Could he do this? He had to do it.

He’d just have to try, just like with everything else in his life.

But, it would’ve been helpful if he knew where this forest even was so he could quickly look it up on his phone during the drive as it didn’t seem to appear on the maps app strangely enough.

Well, never mind, then.

• • + • •

After another 15 minutes had elapsed, that was when they reached the rather rocky, rough-around-the-edges road that veered off from the main path. Driving down it a little ways so no one would know they were there, Chris had the car parked off on the side; teetering between the rugged road and the forest floor. He along with Tom and Rowan were the first three to get out of the vehicle while Matt was firmly sat in his seat, head turned to look out the window and over at the countless trees that hid where he would be staying.

Many thoughts started to form in his mind, mostly ones of being regretful that he didn’t bring more than one flashlight. Well, he had one built in on his phone, too, so that was two in his possession, but just how well did the sun reach that house? Was there a clearing that allowed proper sunlight to shine on it? Was it fully engulfed in the darkness of the treetops?

As he was busy being lost in his head, Chris fetched the overnight bag out from the trunk and slammed it shut; causing Matthew to jump in alert. It was made worse when Tom spotted that movement within the car, forming a smirk on his lips as he decided to hurry on over to the door and slam his opened hand against the window with a loud smack. Yet again, it made the man still inside the car jump in fright once more.

“Fuckin’ _stoppit_!” He screeched at the top of his lungs as his head turned to look at his friends outside, words running together. His eyes were still as wide, horror-stricken.

“Back away from the door. We’re not gonna get him out of there like that,” came Rowan’s voice just below Tom’s loud laughter which seemingly echoed back at them; as if someone were laughing deep within the forest, too. “C’mon, Matt. Out you go.”

With a small shove here and there to get their giggly friend away from the vehicle, he opened the door but was met with resistance as the brunet was clutching onto the handle for dear life; refusing to let it be opened.

He wasn’t ready.

“Are you being serious right now, mate?! You write about being impregnated by aliens but you won’t get out of the bloody car for something that’s harmless?!” The ginger grumbled, continuing to yank at the door before giving up and signaling Chris over to help him out.

“You lot didn’t make it seem like it’s harmless! Saying that someone got murdered in there! How’s that _harmless_?!”

As he continued to shout from inside the car, Chris came on over and easily pried the door open due to Matt being distracted with his sudden tangent. Now, he was exposed to the air of the forest which chilled him to the bone; a visible shiver being seen as he shook there in his seat. With a sigh, both Chris and Rowan helped him out of the passenger side; still met with a bit of resistance and reluctance, but they made it work.

“Here. I got your bag right here,” Chris said, holding out the bag for Matthew to take.

His hands quivered as they reached out to take the bag’s strap and hoist it over his shoulder again. Fingers curled tightly around it, making sure it was secured to his body; a shield.

“Ready to start walking?” Rowan prompted, glancing over at Tom that was already heading into the opacous woods without them.

Matt gave a slight nod of his head before taking one step at a time toward the epicenter. It was obvious that he was doubting each stride, but he had his good friends beside him and he wasn’t leading the way— thanks to Tom. Though, their walk was nearly as quiet as the drive which made every footstep, the crunching of dead leaves under their feet, and tree limbs snapping under pressure that much more audible.

The worst part of it, in his opinion, was the fact that he didn’t hear a single bird call in the distance; not even the sound of rabbits or foxes scurrying about. Were all of the animals hibernating already? He supposed that should be a good thing, meaning that he wouldn’t get harmed from some sort of creature.

Mark that off the list of possible injuries sustained and/or ways to die.

“Did I tell you that I heard a rumor that the one guy that came out here and got killed actually haunts this place?” Tom started up randomly, turning around to start walking backwards as he stared at Matt; a subtle smile appearing. “The killer took his body and hid it somewhere in that house, so his soul got trapped as well as his body. That’s why no one knows who found it in the first place.”

As expected, the brunet swallowed thickly and felt his palms start to get clammy; needing to readjust his hands on the strap of his bag. Not only was he dealing with the possibility that a killer may still live there, but now there was a dead body involved— and it had been there for years? He was instantaneously regretting the fact that he didn’t bring some sort of scented candle or air freshener to keep him from potentially gagging nightly on the stench of a rotting corpse as he tried to sleep— if there was anything left and if there hadn’t been any more recent victims.

What’s worse than smelling one dead body? Two dead bodies.

“Tom, will you quit that?! He’s already scared outta his mind!” Chris scolded, quickly wrapping an arm around Matt and patting his shoulder to reassure him. “Don’t listen to him. It’s just a house. It could’ve been one made centuries ago and it was just abandoned, that’s all. I doubt it’s haunted.”

Rowan started bickering with Tom yet again while Chris continued to guide and talk Matt down from the panic that had shook him to his core.

Everything came to an end when Tom tripped considering he wasn’t looking where he was going since he opted to walk backwards, everyone pausing and scurrying to help their fallen friend up from the rotting leaves and fungi that littered the ground. That’s when they realized that they had found the house in the middle of the forest; a decent clearing around it with a large, sturdy root of a tree acting as the doorway to it being the thing that tripped Tom up.

Fortunately, Matthew didn’t have any worries about the house not getting any sunlight now that he had seen it in person; gaze immediately looking skyward to check it out. It was odd to him how he felt like this neck of the woods was well maintained; damn near a perfect circle of trees around the house, nothing sticking up or standing out of place in the yard around it. He felt chillingly cold with that epiphany, feeling as though those silly rumors weren’t just stories.

Someone was properly keeping up this house— or at least the yard work, and that meant he wouldn’t be alone here.

God, he hoped that the person that lived there was on vacation until Monday.

“Doesn’t look  that spooky,” Tom muttered, brushing himself off as he started to approach the moderately dilapidated building before the other three followed suit.

The first thing Matt noticed was that the blackened roof had missing shingles and some were barely hanging on; a good chance that a few that had fallen were stuck on the balcony that jutted out from the house on the second floor. Speaking of the balcony, it didn’t look useable in the slightest as its wooden railings were broken and it appeared as though there was a gaping hole on the floor of it; right there in the middle with minor debris falling through and landing just below. So much for having a nice balcony to move onto and take a gander at the vast forest around him in the early hours of the morning tomorrow. The shutters on the outside windows were gone except for one that was crooked, nearly boarding up one window that it was in front of. The once dark but now bleached wooden planks that made up the building were rotting away, a few broken and missing much like everything else. The door was wide open, but from where he was standing, he could see that it was the only thing that brought color to the otherwise dark features of the place; a deep red, hopefully paint and not something else.

And yet, it was in adequate condition as a whole. Honestly, the brunet thought that he was going to be placed in a house that was only a single floor due to the weathering down of its walls and whatnot. Color him impressed— and pleasantly surprised.

However, that was another obvious sign that there was, in fact, a resident.

Great.

“I’d say that we’d look inside, but it’s getting dark already and we really need to head on back,” Chris broke the silence, a bit apologetic in his voice. He hated that Matthew had accepted the dare, especially when they were all supposed to be hanging out. This was only keeping their little group apart that much longer. “But, you know, that reward will be worth it.”

Yes, he was the one that came up with the idea of a surprise at the end and yes, he was sort of shaking in his boots right about now.

“Better earn me a cruise or something,” he half-joked, laughing awkwardly before it trailed off into nothing but silence. They were all silent for a couple of moments, listening to the creaking noises coming from the house; a draft of wind blowing through it, must be empty enough.

“Right, well, if you need anything, you’ve got our numbers. Just shoot us a text or call us if it’s real bad,” Rowan spoke up, patting Matt on the back before walking back the way that they all came; toward the car.

“Take lots of photos, will you?” Leave it to Tom to request that.

“Why don’t you stay here instead of me, then?! Get all of the photos you want!”

“Nah, I’ve got a kid waiting back home for me. No time for spooky sleepovers with the dead-! _Ow_!”

And leave it to Chris to slap Tom upside the head to get a move on.

“We’ll see you Sunday afternoon, yeah?”

“Yeah, I-... uh, I guess... See ya.”

They all waved goodbye to each other and just like that, he was alone... or so he hoped, anyway. He had his back facing the house, eyes fixated on the backs of his friends as they made their way into the forest once more; abandoning him much like the first ones that lived here.

At least him and the building had something in common now.

Once he couldn’t see them anymore, he exhaled a sigh and slowly began to turn on his heel to stare at the house that he’d be staying in for the weekend. Fortunately, it was already nearing nighttime so he only had to last through the night, all of Saturday, and then halfway through Sunday. That seemed easy enough; not too long but also not too short.

Once more, the brunet clutched at his overnight bag as he started to walk toward the open door of the house; breathing uneven and nerves on edge.

• • + • •

“H-Hello...?”

He mentally slapped himself for greeting the place and whoever might be in there in a somewhat loud voice, hearing it echo back to him— thankfully— in his own voice. Why did he bother? It’s possibly because he didn’t want to be too rude about intruding in someone’s home, if this were a home to someone. But, that was a simple way of him making sure that he was alone after all— and it seemed that he was... for now, anyway.

Matt remained in the foyer by the door, barely having taken two steps inside; hesitant, and for good reason. When he decided that no one would be returning his little ‘hello,’ that’s when he walked further into the building. The stairs that were in the back seemed to be in fair shape, not at all broken and beaten up like a majority of the wooden objects about... he’d save journeying up them for last, though.

The floors and the walls were barren for the most part aside from the living room; a few paintings hanging about, a wooden chair with a deflated cushion near an old fireplace that was adjacent to the stairs. It was tied to the next room which was the kitchen, equally bare minus another wooden chair, a small circle table which was equally as wooden, and some kitchen appliances that looked as though they came from the 20s or possibly older than that. From what he could tell, those appliances hadn’t been used in years; a blessing in disguise. On the topic of blessings, Matt noticed a small room that was just beside the kitchen— a bathroom! More like just a toilet since there was, well, a toilet and a sink. That’s it. It was clearly broken since the toilet seat was ripped off and the water tank had gone dry, leaving no liquid in the bowl. Good thing there’s plenty of trees to hide in, no one will see him if he had to do his business at all.

Backing out of there and the kitchen, the brunet found himself standing in front of the stairs for a long moment before ascending them to get a lay of the land upstairs. As he naturally assumed with the age this place appeared to be, the steps creaked with every footstep taken no matter how much he tried to not make too much noise; tiptoeing his way up the stairs and wincing at each loud noise despite it. Eventually, he made it to the top which was sectioned off into three rooms; two of which were small one bed rooms except they’re empty and then one large room that had a sunken in and stained mattress right smack dab in the middle of the floor as well as the double doors that led to the balcony. Those double doors, much like the front door, added color to the otherwise drab house but instead of that dark red color being painted on a slab of wood, these doors were decorated with stained glass instead of proper see-through glass. Both designs mirrored each other, mostly multicolored, abstract lines and shapes that didn’t have any purpose in the background with a more obvious shape in the upper right corner of the right door and the lower left corner of the left door; a sun and a moon respectively.

Matt tilted his head as he walked into the room, eyeing the stained glass with piqued interest. He’d never seen anything like that, especially in a house that was broken down for the most part. It was amazing that despite everything else being run down, the glass was what remained in tact. So fragile, and yet...

As he stood there in front of the doors, he reached out with his right hand to touch the sun in the corner while his left remained clutched onto the strap. Fingertips carefully ran over every little bump in the design, a small smile on his face. There was something calming about it, and he couldn’t figure out why.

Deciding to leave it alone for now, he turned around and moved over to the mattress. Pulling the bag off his shoulder, he flopped it onto said mattress and crouched down to open it up to grab his flashlight. It was getting dark fast, almost quicker than any other day of the year. He flicked the switch on the side, turning it on and then setting it down on its flat end so the light would shine upward at the ceiling; illuminating the entire room as a result. That was when he caught something glimmer just out of the corner of his eye, right up against the wall where the mattress met it.

A set of heavy duty handcuffs burrowed into the wood via a heavy latch-like hook, much like what would be seen in some sort of dungeon in a movie or something— which reminded Matthew that there wasn’t a basement, therefore no dead bodies like how the rumor went. He could say for certain there wasn’t any kind of closet around so no jumpscares there, either. Still, why would there be handcuffs that looked as though they could hold back a bear?

He shuffled over to the head of the mattress, more like bouncing over while crouched to reach out for them and feel how heavy they were. They were, indeed, pretty weighty. How they stayed there and didn’t manage to break down the wall was something of a mystery, but he wouldn’t question it. Maybe the previous owner was kinky— who knows! He’s not judging.

Since that was a peculiar find, he couldn’t help but let his gaze wander elsewhere around the room that he was claiming to be his own during this stay.

Nothing else out of the ordinary, aside from a lack of a bedroom door that would keep anything out of this room while he slept. Guess he wouldn’t mind a random squirrel joining him in a cosy enough room; dry, not too cold, and... that’s about it. They could even share the trail mix that he had brought along!

As soon as he was done looking about, he sat down properly on the mattress and pushed his bag off the side of it which created minimal noise due to how low to the ground it was. He was sitting cross legged in the center, phone being pulled out of his jeans pocket to take a look at the time.

_9:32PM._

No wonder it had gotten dark outside and only the vague light of the moon was illuminating the stained glass, allowing him to see aside from the faint color of sunset also helping.

The brunet sent a quick message to Chris, telling him that he hadn’t seen any dead bodies or any signs of anyone living in the house with him. He also snapped a quick photo of the double doors, sending it along with another message of ‘look at how cool these things are!’

A message came back within five minutes.

_‘They aren’t broken? Strange that.’_

_‘I know right? I don’t get how those withstood what this house has gone through!’_

_‘So, you’re safe upstairs or something?’_

_ ‘Yep. Found a room with a mattress. Think I’m going to sleep in a bit. Knackered.’ _

_ ‘Make sure to lock up the house? If there’s locks.’ _

_ ‘Good idea! Talk to you tomorrow.’ _

_ ‘Night.’ _

Tossing his phone off to the side along with the overnight bag, Matt picked up the flashlight and got up from the mattress to head on downstairs again; trying his very best to ignore the constant creaking of those rickety stairs. Fortunately, there was only one door that he had to bother with which was the front one. He closed it once he made his way over to the foyer, finding that a simple door lock was the only lock available as there wasn’t a lock on the door handle.

Nice one.

He slid the little metal latch to the left and locked it down into place, jiggling the handle to make sure that it would keep the door secure. It’d have to take a lot of force to get it open, that’s for sure. When he felt safe enough, he checked the windows around the first floor to see if they were fine as well. Aside from broken glass and some being well boarded up, there wasn’t much that he could do about it. He’d be upstairs, anyway, and the stairs would alert him if someone or something decided to join him. A shiver clawed up his spine at the thought, head shaking to get rid of it before it poisoned his mind and made him scared again.

Matthew scurried on up the stairs again, heading on into the bedroom that he adopted as his own. Again, he had the flashlight placed down to have it shining its spotlight on the ceiling to light up the room as he took his spot on the mattress again, this time deciding to lie there on his back— but not without grabbing the blanket that he had shoved in his bag and putting it over his body to curl up with it and get comfy.

When they were negotiating the rules of the dare, no one stated that he had to be awake at night to deal with potential scares of ghosts and the like. It was simple and clear-cut: stay in the house from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon. No longer or shorter than that. That’s all.

And that could be why he thought he was able to accomplish that task, knowing he could sleep it off and then reap the rewards in the end.

Oh, how wrong he was.

• • + • •

Somewhere between lying down and getting all warm and cozy, Matt had dozed off and was snoring softly into the empty room. The flashlight was still on, acting as a nightlight just in case he were to stir and needed to get up to do something in the middle of the night. His phone would occasionally light up with a text or some sort of alert from an app that he had installed, namely this goofy one that gave little prompts for writers that could help spark some inspiration. None of them had been working for him in the last few months, so he chose to ignore them most days; glancing over the little notification and shrugging.

_12:46AM._

That was the last thing that was shown on his phone after another notification came in, not like he’d notice considering he was asleep and he had it on silent— never finding a good enough ringtone or alert tone that was worth hearing every single time... except for the UFO noises. Now  _ that _ was a good ringtone.

The snoring continued for a few minutes longer before a loud thud came from downstairs, then another one followed by a few more shortly after in rapid succession. Hearing that just below him was enough to make Matt sit straight up, but not without him trying to get out of his blanket cocoon that had him trapped.

Without thinking too much, he reached for his phone and started texting Chris again.

_’Chris. I think something’s downstairs. I don’t know what it is but it’s pounding at the door or the wall or something.’_

No response even well after 10 minutes.

Must be an early night— but then again, Matt’s the only one without kids while Tom, Rowan, and Chris all have at least one.

He tried to send the same text to Tom and Rowan, being met with the same response: nothing. An early night for everyone, he supposed.

So much for them being there if he needed assistance.

The knocking or pounding or whatever noise that was had stopped since then, but Matthew wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to go downstairs to check it out; see if whatever was outside had came inside or whatever was inside with him had left him vulnerable again.

Just as he was about to stand up, he heard a crashing sound; one of glass shattering and falling on the ground which barely masked the heavy thud beneath it, echoing through the empty house. At this stage, he was thoroughly aware that something had broken in. That certain moment was the time that he wished that he had some sort of weapon on him, anything to help shield himself and guard him from any sort of danger that may come about. No such luck.

Grabbing his flashlight, he skittered off the mattress and started to inch his way over to the door to the narrow hallway; a straight shot to the stairwell. This was the... ‘fun’ part, trying not to get caught by whatever it was that lurked downstairs as he’d try to descend those dumb, noisy steps again. Much like this entire adventure, he’d have to try and push his luck.

Step by step, the brunet made his way down as he purposely tiptoed awkwardly on the outer edges of each stair to keep from making any squeaky noises. It seemed to be working well enough as not a sound was made... until the final step.

Instantly, he sucked in a sharp breath; holding it in.

Nothing happened.

And the breath was released, slowly but surely.

He shone the light around the living room before letting it focus on the window nearest to him on the left side of the fireplace. That one was already damaged so there was nothing to really look at, but the second window on the right side was the one with fresh glass on the floor; the light catching it and making it glint suspiciously at Matthew. That was where something or someone had come in... or gotten out. He was still debating that one back and forth in his head.

Stepping on over to the newly broken window, that’s when he noticed something off about it.

Bright red edges on the jagged pieces of glass that continued to cling to the window frame, dripping ever so subtly as the droplet took its time in welling up enough to become heavy and fall from that particular shard.

Matt followed those drips with his eyes as well as his flashlight, noticing that the glass on the floor also possessed those red splotches.

Blood.

It unnerved him to his very center, bringing back those doubts and making him regret coming here in the first place. This wasn’t a place for him, wasn’t a place for anybody but those that wanted to die.

He took a step back, crunching the glass and breaking it further underneath his shoes unintentionally. One step was all it took for him to hit his back against something solid and make him drop his flashlight, knocking the batteries out of it with the protective covering popping off; clattering to the ground.

As he tried to turn around, he gasped loudly as a hand came up to cover his eyes while an arm wrapped around his torso to keep him in place as he inevitably fainted out of fear.

• • + • •

Chirping.

Lots of chirping was the first thing he heard as he slowly beginning to come to. Various kinds of birds, not just one certain birdsong. He was never one to recognize what birds made which sounds, so he couldn’t give distinct answers even if he tried.

His brows furrowed as he stirred, face scrunching up before he opened his eyes little by little.

Matt was back in the bedroom that he had found earlier, but... that didn’t make sense. He could’ve sworn he was downstairs observing that window by the fireplace before...

Blood.

Broken glass.

Bumping into something and dropping the flashlight.

That realization hit him like a truck, making him yet again jolt straight up from the mattress and cause the blanket on him to fly off. He looked beside him to his left and his flashlight was gone. To his right, his bag and phone was still there. He grabbed the mobile device and tapped the screen to check the time.

_10:21AM_, and notifications of missed text messages and a missed call from Rowan.

He checked the messages one by one, starting with Tom.

_‘I told you it was haunted!’_

He didn’t bother to text him back.

Then, Chris.

_‘Are you OK? I can pick you up and not tell the guys that I did that. I don’t need you actually dying out there over some kind of dare.’_

That made him smile and he texted a quick message of ‘_I think I’m OK, but thanks for the offer.’_

And finally, Rowan.

_‘You’ve got bigger balls than me, Matt. I’d run out of that house and never look back. Keep it up!”_

He rolled his eyes at that, chuckling among himself before pocketing his phone and getting up from the mattress to go explore. It was the least he could do, and it was daytime so there was light filtering in through the stained glass as well as the holes in the roof out in the hallway.

Just as he was waltzing out of the room and down the hallway to the staircase, he was met with someone coming up the stairs as noticeable by the way they creaked and groaned with each step. Matthew started to step backwards to go back to the room he came from, not wanting to deal with the apparent owner of this house. Soon enough when the threat was too much to handle, he whipped back around and booked it back to the mattress to hide underneath the blanket.

Footsteps started to approach in his direction as he supposed they would, stopping just outside of the doorway. Whoever it was, they were staring at the lump underneath a red woolen blanket; the brunet could feel those eyes on him, judging him. Again, the footsteps started back up and then stopped at the edge of the mattress. He could hear a sigh, then a gentle clatter of something metallic before whoever they were walked back out of the room and went back downstairs.

At the creaky noises, that’s when Matt pulled the blanket off from over his head and looked at the doorway. Weird. But what was weirder was what he saw when he happened to glance down at his bag, spotting a plate of warm food on top of a metal tray.

Pancakes.

There wasn’t any silverware so he’d have to eat it with his hands, probably a good thing there was no syrup on them as there wasn’t any napkins for him to wipe his hands off of if they were to get messy. Still, how did they manage to make pancakes when there’s no heat or power in this house? As if they went to some nearby restaurant or something like that and ordered pancakes for an intruder. What kind of house owner would do that?

Well, no time to contemplate specifics and what’s right or wrong; might as well dig in before they get cold.

• • + • •

Those had to have been the best pancakes that he had ever tasted in his life, or at least in recent years. He didn’t do too much cooking himself, aside from boxed frozen things that he could stick in the microwave and call it good. Not like he had much money to begin with as he wasn’t some sort of renowned author. No, he’s still starting off therefore his pay wasn’t all that great yet.

Matthew got up from the mattress and took the tray with him, picking it up once he was steady on his feet again. He walked down the hallway again, heading down the now familiar rickety steps to go deposit the empty plate and tray in the kitchen where he supposed they belonged. As much as he should’ve expected it, when he got downstairs and went into the kitchen after crossing the living room, he was finally face-to-face with the person that had given him the pancakes.

What made it that much more odd was that the person sitting there at that lonely circle table looked... normal. Not at all what he expected, anyway. Matt was thinking that the guy would be this super buff dude, short hair, missing an eyeball or something, scars for days...

But, no. That wasn’t this guy at all.

A blond haired man that looked around his age that desperately needed a haircut as it was shaggy and nearly in his eyes, rather thin, decent enough clothes but they could be patched up, and stunning stormy grey-blue eyes that were staring back at him.

Oh, he’s staring back.

“I-... I’m sorry for, uh, barging into your home unannounced last night,” the brunet apologized right off the bat, offering a tiny smile. “I didn’t know that you lived here since I just came back to the area after so long and found out through my friends that there was a house out here and-”

The man tilted his head.

“A-And... I was dared to come out to the forest and spend the weekend in this... place...” He finished, hands shaking which made the plate on the tray start to move along with it; clattering softly.

“You can’t be here,” came the voice in front of him. It didn’t sound threatening, but there was a definite warning tone.

“It’s because you live here, right? That’s why I can’t-”

“No, I mean, yeah, sort of, but that’s not it. You actually can’t stay here tonight. You have to go. Come back next weekend or something, I don’t care. Just not now.”

Matt didn’t quite understand that one. So, it was fine for him to be in a stranger’s house, but not tonight? Then, why give him pancakes and all of that? Was that just a way to shoo him out of the house?

No, he wasn’t going to leave— and he definitely wasn’t going to go without some answers first.

“Did you break through the window last night to get in here?”

“What?” The man frowned, thrown off by the sudden conversation topic change.

“Last night, I saw blood on the window. There was a lot of it. Was that you, or...?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Setting the tray down on one of the kitchen appliances to get it out of his hands, Matthew walked out of the kitchen and took a peek at the window on the right side of the fireplace. It was cleaned up, no glass anywhere; no blood, either.

Then, where did his flashlight go?

He looked around before spotting it on top of the mantle, blinking a few times at it. So, this guy could clean up the crime scene but he couldn’t completely hide what happened at it.

The brunet made his way back into the kitchen and over to the table, placing his hand atop it as he stared the blond down.

“You cleaned it up.”

“Wouldn’t you clean your house up if there was a mess in it?” A cheeky smile started to appear on the man’s face, a hint of amusement playing on his features. “I don’t like having a messy home, sorry.”

“Fine, next question-”

“What is this, 20 questions?”

“Shush! This is important! How long have you been here?”

“Way too long. Not exactly my only home, though, but let’s call it a getaway house.”

That would make sense why there was the bare minimum here, not much for someone to stay here permanently— and it made sense as to why this person didn’t mind him being here. A free-for-all building.

“Getaway house?” Matthew questioned, a brow arching. “So, you’re only here for a little while and then you go back... wherever?”

“Back to Teignmouth, yeah.”

“Wait, you live there? Really? You look about my age, I’m surprised that I hadn’t run into you before when I lived around the area.”

“Probably have since I’ve lived here since I was a kid. I’m always around, usually out in the water somewhere if I’m not at work. I come here every couple of weeks just to hike and get away from it all. Clear my head, you know?”

That sounded like quite the life, being adventurous while having enough money to maintain two houses... sort of. But speaking of being adventurous and whatnot, that made him curious if this guy knew anything about the person that found this place.

“Yeah, I get it, but sorry; got one more question that I have to know before you try to kick me out again.”

“Go for it,” he allowed, brushing a hand dismissively at the apology.

“Do you know of the guy that found this place a few years back? I heard from a friend of mine that someone came out here, found this house, and suddenly went missing. Never caught the name, which is why I guess it’s just a rumor.”

“Oh, yeah. I know him personally.”

“So, he’s alive? Brilliant, I can tell my friend that he’s got to stop believing stupid rumors,” Matt snickered, pulling out his phone from his pocket to text Tom the news.

“Looking right at him.”

That caught his attention, head tilting up from the device in his hands to look back up at the other man.

Oh.

Matt put his phone away.

“You’re the one that found this place? And here I was being fed all of these rumors of this guy getting murdered and buried in the house somewhere just so I’d be scared out of my mind.”

That made the blond laugh with his eyes crinkling up in crescents, now thoroughly entertained at this turn of events.

“Nah, nothing to be scared of here... for the most part. Just an old house that’s a bit too drafty for its own good, but still in decent condition for its age,” he spoke as he stood up from his wooden chair, tucking it into the table as he held out a hand for Matthew to take. “Dominic. Nice to meet you.”

“Matthew-... er, you can just call me Matt,” he replied, taking the hand extended to him to give it a firm shake.

“Then, call me Dom.”

“Okay, Dom. Nice meeting you, too.”

“But really, you need to get out of here.”

“Even after we just became friends?”

“... Friends?” The expression on Dominic’s face was twisted in confusion, hand pulling back away from the handshake. “No, we can’t-... I mean, we’re not... friends.”

“You made me pancakes. You do that for strangers or something?”

“I don’t, but... I never had guests here before and I wasn’t sure what to do with you. Thought you might want a nice warm breakfast and make you way back home or whatever. It’s getting cold out there, isn’t it?” Dom wandered over to where the metal tray had been set, putting it along with the plate in the cupboard just beside the stove. There was no working water, so there wasn’t much he could do about cleaning it up. He’d just have to take it home with him to do so.

“Why aren’t you telling me why I have to leave? Oh, let me guess! You’ve got a lady friend coming over tonight and that’s why you can’t have me over here right now.”

“No, that’s not it.”

“A guy friend? No judgment here.”

“You’re not funny. It’s not because of those reasons,” he groaned, a hand coming up to rub at his face. He was trying to keep his temper under wraps, but this nagging was starting to get to him. “Just listen to me and go before it gets too dark to see out there. Please.”

“You need to give me a reason to go. I can’t have my friends drive all the way out here to come pick me up just for nothing.” Matt thought he deserved that much. It took so much out of him to even be here, so to be kicked out for no good reason? No, he wasn’t having it.

“Are you this stubborn with everyone or is it just me because you don’t know me?”

“I think I’ve always been like this.”

“Christ...” The blond exhaled a loud sigh. “Just my luck, isn’t it.”

A smile effortlessly appeared on Matthew’s face as he looked at Dominic with expectation. As Dom turned around and spotted that look, it made him sigh again; this time in resignation. He guessed that he could give him a reason, and that may be good enough to get him to leave.

“How about I tell you a story,” he prompted, signaling Matt to follow him into the living room and up the stairs.

Naturally, he obliged; anything for proper reasoning.

“Do you know how that rumor came to be? About me disappearing and never coming back?” The blond continued, stepping up the stairs with the other man in tow. “It was a co-worker of mine that came with me for a hike in this very forest, and he was the one that decided to say that I had gone missing. I think I was gone for a few days, but only because the trip wore me out. I had to stay home and rest up. I hadn’t heard much about this place, but I knew that I wanted to explore it. Yeah, there’s wildlife lurking out there that you have to be careful about, but I had no idea there was something like this house out here. Needless to say, it was in worse condition when I found it than now, but it was still an amazing find.”

They both sauntered into the main bedroom, Dominic signaling once again for Matthew to sit down and listen as he started to pace the room.

Again, he followed instruction.

“I explored this place from top to bottom, fascinated by the red door downstairs and then this stained glass up here that stuck out more than anything. I couldn’t believe that something like this existed on a house that was run down. How did it stay perfect when everything else was the opposite? It made no sense to me. The sun and the moon, they’ve always had a strange symbolism in history as well as fairytales. They say that they’re lovers, trying to catch each other or whatever. But, it’s also... _evolution_.”

“Evolution...” Matt repeated from behind Dom, lips pursed.

“Yeah. Maybe that’s not the right word for it, but the daytime brings out one thing while the nighttime brings out something else. Polar opposites, Jekyll and Hyde, metamorphosis but less about caterpillars and butterflies, all of that shite.”

It went quiet after that attempt of an explanation, Matthew staring at the handcuffs that were still hanging there on the wall.

And then, it clicked.

This could possibly be worse than a ghost or a witch.

“Do you... use these by chance?” He pointed at the silver cuffs, eyes focused on the blond as he watched him turn his head to look at what was being talked about.

A tight lipped smile and a nod.

“And this getaway house is... a way for you to not be caught?”

Yet another nod.

“So, when you ‘disappeared,’ you were dealing with the beginnings of-”

“I was attacked, Matt. We went into the forest that evening, got lost for hours upon hours, and the only thing guiding us was a pathetic flashlight and the moonlight over our heads. Perfect moonlight of a full moon. We didn’t expect to be out that long, but we were. We came across this clearing, heard a monstrous howl, and next thing I know, I’m on my back, begging for this giant beast of a creature not to kill me as I look at it right square in the eyes while trying to shove it off of me. I don’t think I have to tell you that it obviously didn’t work.” He scoffed with some inkling of bitterness, shaking his head as he decided to sit down on the mattress beside Matt, right between him and the wall; back up against it where the handcuffs were. “Didn’t have a chance in hell, really. He bit my shoulder and I had never experienced such burning pain in my life. I wanted to die so badly, but I couldn’t. I didn’t have the willpower to get up and do anything. I laid there on the forest floor, screaming my head off. My co-worker fled and I eventually got up after a few hours. Went back home, took a shower, and went to bed. I knew that I needed to see a doctor, but have you seen the wait times in A&E? I treated it at home as best as I could, cleaned it up and put some bandages over it. I wasn’t bleeding or anything, so I didn’t think much of it. I remember getting terrible headaches, couldn’t sleep after that first night and it progressively got worse after a few weeks. I remember being so ill that I thought I was dying and before I knew it, a full moon came about when I didn’t notice. I heard and felt my bones breaking and reforming for the first time; the same sort of pain that I felt when I was bitten. And then, nothing; I don’t remember anything else after that. Now I sort of remember things since it’s been a while since the day I became... this. But, when you’re a new... one of those, it’s all instinct.”

“You don’t even want to say what you are,” Matt noticed that certain quirk, curious as to why that was. “Is it because you’re scared of what you are?”

“Not so much scared of what I am as scared of what I’m capable of. I know that I’m not fully in control, even after years of-... well, I can’t say ‘adapting,’ but dealing with the side effects of my attack.” Mindlessly, he was already latching one of the heavy cuffs onto his wrist; now Matthew knew that must be pure silver and not just the coloring of it. “I come here when the full moon is about to rise and I keep myself chained up here, just wait it out.”

But, that sparked another question.

“How do you free yourself after you’ve finished being a big bad wolf?”

Dom was torn between laughing and wanting to question why he hadn’t scared off his rare guest yet. So, he opted for the former and then answered the question.

“Well, you see, I’ve replaced this wall countless times...” He used his free hand to knock his fist on the wooden planks behind him; a true handyman, no one could tell it was torn out time and time again. “It does a good job keeping me there for a while, but when something in the woods comes a-running, hunger strikes and I basically go all Hulk-like. It’s why I’ve got windows smashed, the door downstairs only has one working lock... Once I get whatever woodland creature is out there, that’s enough to calm me down, and then that’s about the time that I shift back.”

“And is that painful, too, or just the transformation to... that?”

“Any time your bones are breaking to reform into something else, it’s gonna hurt like a bitch. Trust me. Ever break a bone?”

“No.”

“Good. Don’t start now.” He winked, jiggling his hand that was captured in the handcuff. “Now, got any more questions or are you done interrogating me? It’s getting later and later, Matt.”

As the mention of time came up, the brunet checked his phone.

_12:00pm_ on the nose.

Had they really been talking that long? It just seemed like a moment ago.

“Yeah, uh, can I see that bite mark you got on your shoulder? You know, just so I can see what would happen if I stuck around. Use it as a deterrent.”

Again, Dominic laughed, holding back a snort. What a weird one Matt was, but he had to admit that it was nice that the whole werewolf business didn’t make him talk to Dom as if he were something lesser than human. If anything, he was greater; powerful; unstoppable. He even aged slower than normal humans with this extra side to him. Though, he wasn’t sure that’d be beneficial in the long run if he wanted to settle down with someone— that was if it were even possible. Ah, yes, he could see it now; going on a date and explaining that he’s a werewolf. That’s one way to make potential partners think that he’s a nutcase and needed to be sent to an institution.

“Sure thing,” he accepted, getting his hand back out of the handcuff so he could use both of them to reach back behind his head to clutch onto the back of his black sweater and pull it off in one fell swoop.

Matthew shuddered instantly as he saw that large scar that stretched far wider than he had expected. It wasn’t just a small wolf that got a hold of Dominic, but it was a large beast that had ensnared him unfortunately. The mark went over one pectoral muscle to the back of the shoulder blade, fully covering his shoulder. Not only were there obvious teeth imprints, but it was as if something had tugged at the werewolf and made him scrape those sharp canines along the skin.

Without thinking, Matt reached over and gently brushed his fingertips over those deep scrapes, tracing them much like he did with the sun on the stained glass. It was nearly the same texture.

“Matt-” The blond shivered, not sure if it was a combination of the cool air hitting his bare skin and being touched or it was just one or the other. Whatever it was, it was inexplicable and foreign.

“Sorry-! Sorry, I-I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s just so cool looking, you know, so I wanted to touch it. It sort of feels like the stained glass. I couldn’t help myself when I got here. It drew me in and I had to touch it.” In retrospect, it made sense as to why that particular design was chosen. Was it that werewolves and their potential kin were lured to this spot? It was as if it were some sort of bat signal— but for werewolves. A wolf signal.

“You too, huh. It’s stunning, isn’t it? But, it’s alright. Guess it does make me cool in some sort of... weird way.”

“No, no, no— I said the  scar was cool, not you!” Matthew laughed. “Don’t mix my words up!”

“Oh, well, excuse me that the cool scar attached to me doesn’t make me cool by default.” He rolled his eyes, echoing that laughter. There was something about that other man’s laugh that was seemingly contagious. As they kept that up, Dom slipped his sweater back onto his torso and sighed as it finally tapered off.

“Alright, no more questions?”

“One more, actually.”

“Are you serious? Sweet Jesus...”

“Are we friends now?”

That... wasn’t exactly the sort of question that he had expected from the brunet, considering the long list of inquiries that they had gone through already. It felt like an interrogation, and now... it wasn’t that at all.

It seemed so genuine; so pure.

Why was this guy so desperate to be his friend? Was it that he felt bad about breaking in still, because it wasn’t any problem. Yes, Dom may have overreacted when he first spotted a stranger in his home but he was scared, too.

Scared for the both of them.

It’s why he came from behind to disable, making sure that there was no threat to either of them; securing the fact that this human wasn’t going to attack him like some sort of hunter. He’s only heard stories of those kinds of things through research, but who knew if anyone around Devon knew that werewolves existed and that they’d want to go hunt them if they weren’t already aware and were a hunter themselves?

• • + • •

_ This wasn’t what he was expecting to do at his safe house in the middle of the woods at one or so in the morning. _

_ He pedaled his way back to his safe house with a bag attached to him, full of extra clothes and some water to last him for this full moon weekend. Dominic was good at playing it safe, making an excuse to his boss for his absence and then leaving town a day before. These two days were when he was at his strongest but also his most emotional, which could go one way or another; catastrophic or easy going to the point of tears. Even the slightest thing could piss him off, so it was best for him to get away from people during that time so there wouldn’t be any questions asked. _

_ As he parked his bicycle there beside the house’s outer wall by resting it against there, he walked up to the front door and tried to open it. _

_ No go. _

_ Strange. _

_ He started slamming his hand against the door, making loud thuds as a result. It wasn’t budging in the slightest. Dammit. He even kicked at it, but it was locked from the inside; that stupid latch lock. The blond didn’t think that he had done that the last time he came there, but maybe he was mistaken. It could’ve been when he changed and used an alternate path to get out of the house. _

_ Whatever. No big deal. _

_ But, it really was. It was making him angry. _

_ So, the next ‘logical’ step for him to take? _

_ Dom went around to the side of the house and hurled himself and his bag into the window, effectively breaking the glass and cutting himself up as a result. He growled in pain as he got up from the floor, plucking shards of glass from his arms and his face and tossing them down with the bigger pieces. He’d have to clean that up later, but not now. _

_ He made his way into the kitchen, tossing the bag he had onto the circle table and sat down on his chair with a grunt. It was time for him to relax, not be so worked up over something so small; so minuscule. During that time, the cuts on his skin were healing up at a rapid pace; a perk of the lycanthrope bacteria that infected his body years ago. _

_ As he was sitting there, he heard a noise come from the stairs; a sound that only those bloody steps could make when someone walked on them. _

_ Alert, the blond got up and stalked his way over to where the kitchen met the living room, peering out from behind the wall. _

_ That’s when he happened to find a shadowy figure slightly illuminated by a flashlight lurking around, looking at the window that Dom had broken minutes ago. Evidently, they both were wary just by how they both were being as subtle as possible. _

_ However, he couldn’t see what was in that human’s left hand, therefore he found it suitable to go ahead and apprehend the stranger— until the poor thing passed out in his arms after he had secured him in place. _

_ No way a hunter could be so fearful of the unknown— or carry a singular flashlight and nothing else. When said flashlight clattered to the ground and came undone, Dominic sighed and took care of the person first by carrying him upstairs and situating him there on the mattress that usually served as his own bed. _

_ Between one in the morning and 10, he had been cleaning up the mess and going home briefly to make some breakfast and bring it back as an apology for scaring whoever it was that decided to use his getaway place as a refuge for whatever reason. _

• • + • •

“Dom...?”

“What?”

“You were zoning out for a minute. Was my question that deep? Could at least say ‘no’ instead of ignoring me like that,” Matt let out a huff, not too thrilled about being left hanging.

“No, I-”

“So, that’s a ‘no’?”

“Will you let me finish?!” And as soon as he yelled that out, he covered his face with his hands and took a deep breath. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell, I just-”

“... Get really agitated during this time of the month?”

How could Dominic not laugh at these stupid jokes?

“Yeah, something like that. It’s why I usually come here a bit before the full moon because this is the time that I can’t control myself entirely,” he explained. “And yet, you seem... perfectly fine with me yelling at you and being... myself. You’re a strange one.”

That made Matthew smile as he replied with, “you’re one to talk, Mr. Big Bad Wolf.”

They both erupted into a fit of giggles, which eventually died off so the blond could properly answer the question that he didn’t get to yet.

“Yeah, I guess we’re friends. Not like I have many friends these days, so I wouldn’t know what one of those actually are. They don’t really know me after... that, so congratulations on being my first actual friend. Maybe after this blows all over, we could go get a pint somewhere?”

“Yeah, I’d love that. One more pint before I have to go back home.”

“What do you mean?” Dom inquired with a slight scrunch of his nose. “You don’t live around here? I thought you said that you did.”

“Yeah, in the past. I grew up down here and everything, but I moved way north. I live in Birmingham now, trying to become a proper science fiction author.”

“You do seem like the type to write that sort of thing, but... that’s bloody fantastic. I make a friend and he’s a temporary one.”

“What? Just because I live somewhere else doesn’t mean I stop being your friend! Besides, this was just a spur of the moment trip to see the friends I grew up with and they all told me to go play in the forest for a few days and... well, here we are.”

“I should thank them one day for letting me have their friend for a while.” There was a bit of bitterness to his tone, but Matt was ruling it off as that mood swing from the moon’s changing of phases. “Only to have them take him away.”

“Calm down, Dom... I’m not going anywhere.” Were werewolves naturally possessive over new friends or was that a Dominic thing? 

In an attempt to soothe, he reached out and placed a hand on the shoulder that didn’t harbor the scar; thumb stroking at the clothed skin.

“Just breathe, I’m right here. We’re gonna get a pint tomorrow. Just you and me.”

That seemingly helped as his shoulders were relaxing at the touch, muscles all about his body not nearly as taut and tense as it was getting a second ago.

“There we go,” the brunet concluded, giving a gentle squeeze to the other man’s shoulder before pulling his hand back but it was stopped midway as Dom captured it with his own.

“You have to leave. Can’t you see how dangerous this is getting?”

“Dom, I’m not leaving. I know I said I’d leave after I asked my questions, but maybe I can help you. We’re friends now, right? What if all you need is someone around during your transformation?”

“That is the most idiotic plan I have ever heard. You really think the power of friendship is going to keep me from going feral? I will rip you to shreds once I am free and you won’t be able to stop me.”

Was it really that disastrous of a plan? He supposed it was, but that wouldn’t keep Matt from attempting to stay put in this house when the full moon shone its first light on the earth. Besides, didn’t Dom already call him out about being stubborn? This shouldn’t come as any surprise now. And again, it wasn’t like he could get very far by foot if he left. It took an hour or so just to get to the bed and breakfast by car, so...

“We can always try,” was all he said before he turned around on the mattress to grab his bag that was still there by the side of it. He fished inside it for his notebook and ballpoint pen, opening it up to a new page and starting to scribble once he had clicked the top his writing utensil.

“What’re you doing?” Dominic leaned over, hovering his head right there by Matthew’s shoulder to take a look at the notebook that was receiving all of his attention now. “Are you drawing? What even is that thing?”

“Don’t critique my artwork! I’m a _writer_, not an artist,” Matt grumbled with zero anger or malice, lifting his left hand up to push it against Dom’s face to get him out of his bubble. “I’m trying to show you something!”

A few more scribbles later, he was finished with his ‘masterpiece.’ Actually, it was more of a diagram of what he thought would happen.

“Okay, if you look here,” he begun, pulling his hand back so he could point at the page. “So, we’ve already established that I can sort of calm you down, right? If you leave me in charge of the handcuffs and everything else, maybe you’ll be more comfortable when you’ve become a werewolf.”

All Dominic could do was stare at the paper and the other in disbelief. This was such a childish way to approach things, so completely disillusioned and hopeful for an outcome that couldn’t be achieved even if they had this planned for years. He had to admit the depiction of him as a happy werewolf with little hearts around his head as he’s being petted by an overly happy stick figure with spiky hair was cute, though.

“You drew a picture just to say that?”

“Shut up,” he muttered under his breath and ripped the page out of the notebook, crumpling it up into a ball and throwing it at the blond’s face; tongue sticking out.

“Hey! Why’d you do that to it? It was cute, come on.” Grabbing the wadded up paper, he unwrinkled it and tried his best to smooth it out again prior to reaching into his pocket to grab a piece of gum; chew it up and then use it as sticky tack to hang up the photo right there on the wall beside him. “Our first photo together.”

“I can’t believe you corrupted my artwork with your gross saliva-riddled piece of gum.”

Dom shrugged his shoulders and turned around to face the wall, eyeing the sturdy hook that bolted the handcuffs to the wall. He was contemplating something, but he wasn’t quite sure if it’d work. That’d be even more dangerous for Matt, and he couldn’t do that to him; put him in more danger than he already was by not getting him to leave in a timely fashion.

He had to try; make a good willed attempt.

“I need to leave for an hour or so. I’ll be back before nightfall; I have to be. So, stay here,” he said abruptly, getting up and heading downstairs in a hurry to fetch his bicycle and pedal off into town. Even when Matt was following him and shouting questions at him, he didn’t break focus.

They were running out of time for this experiment.

• • + • •

So many missed messages, so many missed calls... Matthew was going to blame it on the bad service due to the trees and probably a lack of a proper cell tower out there in the middle of absolutely nowhere as to why he couldn’t send something back to signal that he was, in fact, still alive despite his frightening first night there. He saw them appear on the screen in bursts, questioning if he was dead yet (which was the expected question) or if he had seen anything cool. They’d just have to be patient, much like he was with the reward he was supposedly supposed to get.

It was approaching _7:00pm_, the sun beginning to set and the moon beginning to rise; mirroring the stained glass in the bedroom. There was no sign of Dominic, and that was worrying him greatly.

Was it possible to change before seeing the moon? God, he hoped not!

He chose to head on downstairs, looking out the front door for any traces of Dom getting closer to the house from whatever adventure he decided to take last minute. After standing there for a few minutes with nothing to show for it, he yelled the blond’s name.

“Christ, quit your _shouting_! I’m right here!” He had apparently snuck in from the side, not using a normal path as he had to go to another town to get what he was looking for. He detached the bag he had on the back of his bike, handing a large vest over to Matt before heading on inside and up the stairs in a flash.

“What the-... Why a vest?!” He’s already back to yelling, chasing Dominic upstairs and back into the bedroom while hurriedly putting on the vest. Again, the other was fixated on that pair of heavy duty handcuffs attached to the wall.

“I thought it’d give you some added protection. Never know. Might work— or not,” his voice seemed distant in those last two syllables, far away from how it had been just a split second ago. The full moon was approaching, and whatever it was that the blond needed to do had to be done quick. “Stay back.”

Without using any sort of tool, he managed to pry the handcuffs off the wall; splitting the hook as a result. Matthew didn’t know how that was going to help them now. Was that supposed to happen? Didn’t he want to be chained to the wall? Apparently not with this sudden change in plans that wasn’t at all discussed with him— or maybe it had something to do with the picture he drew.

Giving Matt control.

“What’re you doing with it?” He questioned in a tiny voice, not wanting to anger his friend in any way. That was when the handcuffs were thrusted into his possession along with another pair as well as a long chain that had a connector at one end to link it together.

“Put them on me. Hurry. Wrists and ankles, then bind them together.” It was an order, a cold one at that by how low Dominic’s voice had gotten. “Come on.”

As instructed, the brunet set to work as he made sure to lock each heavy cuff on the man’s wrists and then his ankles once he was in a comfortable position sitting up on the mattress with his back against the wall. Once they had been put in place, the chain was then looped around each connecting chain for the cuffs and linked together as close knit as possible.

“Got it-”

“Back up. Don’t get near me.”

Without taking any chances, he scurried away from Dom to stay at the other end of the room. With having him on the floor all chained up like that rather than connected to the wall, Matthew was starting to worry if this was such a good idea. Well, to be frank, he’d probably trip before he could managed to get up properly— and even then, he would be hunched over; complaining about an aching back when he’d come back to his senses.

One could hope for that comedic relief.

In a matter of minutes, it was as if some internal clock had counted down to its final seconds and there was the sound of bones cracking and breaking; screams of pain echoing throughout the walls of the house and into the forest which ate them up, not allowing those outside it to bear witness to those heart-aching sounds of someone in immense pain with no reprieve. Shortly, those shouts of agony became growls and howls of something otherworldly; ones that sent shivers down Matt’s spine and made his entire body quake with a ferocious intensity he’d never experienced before.

This was pure terror; a thing of nightmares.

A flash of teeth that seemed bigger than his forearm and sharper than any knife known the man; golden eyes that resembled molten amber pierced right into his very soul; sandy fur that was ragged and appeared coarse to the touch.

No depiction of a werewolf could ever compare to what he was witnessing right before his eyes, the constant growling and whining as Dominic struggled against his restraints and attempted to stand with no progress made. The silver was enough to keep him from fighting too hard, but it was evident that it wouldn’t stop him in the end if he reached a point of no return.

As much as he was frightened and shaking like a leaf in the corner of the room, there was something deep inside that was overriding it steadily.

He wanted to prove Dom wrong.

And that was what he was going to do.

With a shaky breath, he started to tread on over to the side of the room where the werewolf was huffing and wriggling his body around in an attempt to free himself. He had a hand outstretched, but immediately pulled it back when Dominic bared his teeth at him; not taking too kindly to that action.

“Okay, okay, okay. I’m sorry,” the brunet huffed back, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he kept getting closer and closer; inch by inch, shuffling his feet forward. “Let’s see what we’ve got here...”

As he leaned forward to grab his bag, that was when the werewolf had decided to lunge for him by throwing himself to the right; pouncing on the overnight bag and knocking a few things out of it. Not only did that help him in a weird way, but it also gave the poor guy a mini heart attack; feeling as though that organ was lodged in his throat, choking him. He had to earn the creature’s trust first, much like what he had to do with Dom in his human form; establish a bond and go from there.

The one thing that he was hoping to get was his trail mix, which fortunately tumbled out of the bag and was in Matt’s reach. He snagged it, opening it up and then holding it out for Dominic.

“Do you like trail mix? It’s a favorite of mine, the one with some chocolate pieces in it... Can your kind have chocolate or are you like a dog and it’s toxic to you?”

The werewolf let out a huff through his nose, eyes firmly locked onto the human that kept getting closer and closer to him; pupils dilating.

“Come on, just try a little.” He held it even closer before Dom’s muzzle was shoved violently into the bag as he began trying to eat the trail mix; some of the pieces unfortunately getting in his nose which made him sneeze.

So much for sharing that bag. Glad he’s got another one.

“Proper hungry, yeah? Go ahead, take it all.”

While the werewolf was busy with the bag stuck on his face, Matthew wanted to see if he could pet him much like he drew on his little drawing.

Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned.

Actually, it went horribly wrong.

As he was reaching for Dominic’s head, Dom had just finished the treat that he was offered and was wiggling the bag off his face with short shakes of his head. He managed to get that off in a matter of seconds and because Matt was distracted with the intent to calmly pet him, he didn’t see that happen which ended up with the werewolf snapping his head up in an instant and capturing his hand between his teeth; crunching down viciously on the bones, tissue, ligaments, and muscle until it was ripped off his arm.

A strangled scream sounded from him as he fell backwards, clutching at forearm as it spurted and leaked blood from where an appendage was missing. Reaching for the shreds of a shirt that Dom once wore but busted out of, he tried his best to make a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. He was still crying out in anguish at that pain, but he was persistent despite a shaky hand and an equally shaky body.

As he was busying himself with the chaos that he had inflicted with his own bad decisions, Dominic was licking the blood off his lips after having swallowed the hand that he had captured. However, it was evident that the werewolf was conflicted once he had finished; a subtle glint in his eyes, something shimmery in the corners.

He had done something wrong, and it’s possible that it had touched the human side of him— or he had been satiated from the snacks and the hand he was accidentally fed, causing him to realize what he had done with clarity. Those wails of pain continued to echo throughout the room, all being absorbed into a giant beast of a creature as he understood.

A low howl rumbled from Dom’s chest as he stared at Matthew which earned a gaze back; a distant look in those blue eyes, but not because he was disappointed or sad. It was a look of someone that felt the need to collapse but was forcing themselves to stay awake no matter what.

“You’re alright, Dom. I-It’s... It’s just a hand. Should’ve given me something for my hands, not my chest,” he laughed it off, trying to deal with the situation with as much sanity as he could cling onto. “Did you... want more trail mix? I-I got another around here somewhere...”

Matt tried to work his way on over towards the other bag of trail mix, but it was halfway in the overnight bag and the werewolf was on top of it.

“Can you please move...? I don’t want you to get mad at me. I-I can’t get the trail mix if you’re on top of it... Please.” He was staring right into those golden eyes as he pleaded, hoping it’d strike some sort of chord within Dominic.

With a soft huff, the werewolf tried to sit back up and stay away from the bag, but he could only shuffle away from it rather than sit up properly.

That was enough.

Carefully, the brunet reached for the second bag of trail mix and placed it between his legs so he could hold it in place while he used his left hand to rip it open. Once it was prepared, he held it over for Dom once more.

This time, it was much more gentle as if he was just as fearful as the human— or more so now that it was much weaker than himself.

A dangerous power imbalance.

His muzzle nudged at the opening of the bag before he stuffed it in there, grabbing some of the mix before pulling his face back out of it; quietly munching on what was in his mouth.

“Is it good...?”

A low howl was received again, followed by the subtlest of nods.

“Glad to hear it...”

Matt had a faint smile on his face, eyes half lidded as if they were to close any second. Dom could sense that, so he tried to move his head closer to the other and nudge him briefly with the tip of his nose periodically to keep him awake.

“Is it alright if I pet you now...?“ He had his hand held out hesitantly, expecting for that one to go missing as well as he inched it forward until it reached the top of the werewolf’s head without a hitch.

_Oh._

Gently, he scritched at the the fur there; taking in the coarse, rough texture of those small strands. It felt so weird, but it was rewarding in its own right. Somehow, he managed to prove that friendship may be stronger than any sort of lycanthrope curse, but he could brag about that later when morning came and took the beast with it.

For now, he’d sit there and appreciate Dom in this form, grateful for the company and the warmth as they huddled up as much as they could; the werewolf claiming this human as his own to protect, watching over him as he slept until morning.

• • + • •

The shift was painful and gradual, but it wasn’t nearly as painful as the shift from human to werewolf. Though, when Dominic had gone back to his human form, he was left with a mixture of flavors in his mouth— chocolate, various types of fruits and nuts, and...

He could remember it; remember what he had done to Matthew.

He didn’t want to.

Speaking of which, Matt was fast asleep on him; curled into his side and unaware of the change despite the guttural sounds that came with it. It was most definitely because he had lost quite a bit of blood and the shock of it all was enough to knock him out.

“M-Matt, I’m sorry...” He eyed the forearm that had a bloodied cloth wrapped tightly around the unclean stump, blocking any kind of blood flow. “I should’ve protected you better, and I didn’t do it.”

He wasn’t sure if it was the delirium of shifting back or what, but it felt as though that he had a deeper connection to his newfound friend than what he did prior to the change. Of course he knew that he could trust the brunet with every fiber of his being the moment that he spilled everything and not a flinch from him happened which made it easy to become his friend within a matter of a couple of hours but now that Matt had dealt with him during one of his toughest moments, how could he not have a profound adoration for him?

And maybe— just maybe— eating his hand could have something to do with it, forever connecting the two in an odd way but... he didn’t want to think about it anymore. It’s bad enough he wanted to throw up, but he couldn’t move due to the restraints.

He would just have to wait it out and reflect on the events of last night regardless if he wanted to or not; tears welling up in his eyes and clouding his vision.

Alone with his plaguing thoughts and a sleeping human at his side.

• • + • •

_1:37PM._

Matthew’s half awake, somewhat alert, and very aware that he’s missing a hand due to the throbbing sensation there at the end of his limb.

“A-Are you up, Matt? Great. Your phone has been ringing nonstop and I think it’s out of battery. I would’ve answered it when it rang, but I’m a bit tied up at the moment.” And he wouldn’t be exactly the best person to talk to right now when all he wanted to do was apologize over and over for the mess he caused. At least that was put on hold at the moment since his mind was preoccupied with making sure his companion was coherent and not dying.

Grumbling a little and lifting his left hand up to rub at his face, he yawned once before sitting up slowly and looking at Dom.

“Do you know what time it is?”

“Think it’s about... one or so, don’t know.”

“Fucking hell, really? No wonder they were calling me relentlessly.” That seemingly perked him up as he stared to undo the handcuffs and the chains. Once the blond was free, he got up and then helped Matt up to his feet as well; holding him close to his side, an arm around him.

“How’s your-... you know...?” A voice full of shame paired with a glance away from the brunet.

“I’ll just have to go to the doctor and get it all patched up, right? I’ll be good in no time, don’t worry about it. Hope it tasted good, you prick,” he teased with a nudge to the other man’s side with his elbow before grabbing at Dom’s hand to tug him toward the hallway. “Come on, we can go meet my friends at the front of the forest-“

“No, I can’t do that,” he said as he squeezed at Matthew’s hand, pulling him back toward him; face nuzzling into the side of his head. “Not after what I’ve done to you, you know? I gotta go separately and then we can meet later for that pint. But, go see a doctor first. Please.”

If he said he wasn’t blushing, that’d be a lie. His face felt hot, cheeks tinted with color.

What had gotten into Dom?

“I-I, er, I will. But, you don’t even know how to get a hold of me. How can we figure out where to meet up?”

Just then, he heard a soft sniff right there by his ear before he could feel the upturning of lips against his skin.

“I‘ll find you, don’t worry.”

• • + • •

As they had planned, Matt left the house first as Dominic stayed back until the coast was clear so he could run to his bike that he left in the trees on the left side of the property.

It was filled with shouts and screams of their friend having lost his hand, but not after he had cheekily pulled his stump out from hiding in his coat pocket and held it up for the world— or his friends— to see in all of its bloody glory. Chris was the first one to take action, picking his injured friend up and running with him toward the car; leaving Tom and Rowan in the dust along with the overnight bag that slipped off of Matt’s shoulder.

Their exit was followed by shouts of “I told you so!” and “shut up for once in your damn bloody life, Tom!”

In the distance, Dom could hear the car starting and then zooming off to the nearest hospital, which gave him some relief. Matt would be fine; they both would be fine.

He was double checking the bedroom to be sure that nothing was left behind by the brunet when he stumbled across that picture that was hurriedly thrown together to prove a point. He snatched it off the wall, staring down at it in his hands, and smiled fondly at the memory.

Next time, it’ll be better.

He promised that.

Tucking it into his pocket after folding it up and fixing the new clothes he had put on, he proceeded to exit the house once more and head back home to act casual until it was time to meet up with Matthew again.

_God_, he couldn’t wait.

• • + • •

Weeks had flown by and Matt had finally kicked his writer’s block from that trip down south, grateful for the opportunity to go back to his hometown and hang out with his friends and also a new one that may be a little bit more than a friend considering what they had gone through together within those 24 hours.

Absolute madness, but that’s a surefire way of obtaining a muse that wasn’t there before. To be completely honest, he couldn’t say that it was the right method for everyone; a niche.

On top of that, he had tamed a werewolf in the process so Dom was practically his watchdog— or a protector, whatever you want to call it.

Two-in-one!

As for the reward that he was supposed to get at the end of his successful dare, that... was just a joke that turned real in an instant when he showed up with no hand on his right arm. It soon became a flat that, with the help of a certain blond, was situated in neighboring Exeter so he wouldn’t be too far away from the forest and also his friends and loved ones in Teignmouth. How could he say ‘no’ to something like that?

It was the least everyone could do for him, getting him into that situation in the first place.

But with those _mis_adventures came new obstacles, such as learning to write with his left hand, needing to use speech-to-word for his novels, and dealing with a series of cluster headaches that had been plaguing him for days on end now; slowly becoming a nuisance when he tried to sleep at night as well, causing dark circles to form underneath his eyes.

On those nights, that’s when he asked Dom to stay with him to see if he could sleep better with his presence around— and it worked! It really, truly worked.

But, those same nights severely bothered the blond as they continued week after week as he swore on the night of a new moon he could hear a low, guttural growl coming from the bed.

The cycle had found its way back around.

**Author's Note:**

> The working title was ‘Moonlight,’ going along the theme of ‘Starlight.’ Get it?
> 
> Chose against it since this seemed to encapsulate the story better as there are many changes going throughout, some more subtle than others; some hinted, some needed to be explored.
> 
> Anyway, this is the first fanfic I’ve written in over a year and it is, by far, the longest I’ve done. I’ve written for years and years, but only now managed to do something as extensive as this.
> 
> This was definitely a work done out of love for both Muse and the supernatural, namely werewolves. Not only that, but I’ve only ever seen one person in particular become a werewolf! Why not someone new?
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it; and maybe next year (or sooner), I’ll do a continuation of this to check in on what happens next!


End file.
